Wow! It’s been a busy and fun weekend! Father’s day and Jesse’s birthday all shoved into one. We had Jesse’s party on Saturday at A Gym Tale with 6 of his closest little buddies and their parents, who are all great friends of ours. The kids had a blast playing on the structure, and in the gymnastics area, and were pretty wiped after an hour. After some quick cake, present opening, and a group photo, everyone was on their way home for lunch and nap time! Dave, Jesse, Janna and I all napped for almost 3 hours!

Yesterday evening, we spent lots of time in Jesse’s new house- a joint gift from both sets of grand- parents, and ourselves. He woke up this morning, on his real birthday, asking if the house was still in the backyard. He was just tickled when he discovered it was still here, and then was over the moon when his aunt Katie surprised him with a trike after breakfast. Dave was away all morning and into the afternoon playing at both services in church today. We had another afternoon nap after church (YAY for the weekend) and celebrated Fathers Day/Jesse’s real birthday at supper time.

Growing up, my mom’s thing was that she always cooked us whatever we wanted on our birthdays/special occasions. I have continued this tradition with my family. Jesse had cheeseburgers, and Dave wanted Nacho Dip. We topped off a yummy supper with Gluten free cake, and opened a few more gifts sent from family. And oh yes, we got Dave a nice card and a fancy watch for Father’s Day. It will be fun when the kids can come up with their own ideas as to what Dave might like for Father’s day.

I’m thinking of my own dad today, also. My mom and 3 brothers and us all chipped in to purchase him a little BBQ, as he’s been missing having one since they moved, and I would have loved to be home to eat some steak and potatoes with him. My dad is pretty awesome. He is super kind, and understanding, and goes out of his way to help people with the smallest to the biggest of things. He has been an amazing example for me in many areas of life, and I am looking forward to seeing him and the rest of the family when we head home for summer vacation in a little over one month!

Weekend s like this weekend, full of memories and firsts (or seconds) for the kids, make me miss my family. They also make me feel very blessed with the friendships we have made in Ottawa. I am so thankful for such a great group of friends and kids we were able to celebrate Jesse’s 2 years in life with.

I can’t believe my little Jesse Bear is 2. It is so strange to watch back videos of him as a wee baby and even a one year old. Because he was essentially the same in personality and temperament, but he is learning and growing so fast! Tonight, when I put him to bed he stayed awake for an hour. Usually he chatters and sings, sometimes he whines, but I NEVER go into him once it’s bed time. He usually falls asleep in 30 minutes or so. Tonight though, I heard him calling, “mommy, mommy” over and over again..... which is strange, because he rarely does that at bed time. So, I went in to check on him. He gave me a big hug and just clung to me for a bit. Then he squeezed my face and smiled and asked to go downstairs. I decided since it was his birthday I would savour a bit of time with him. So, I fixed us some toast and we sat beside each other in the dim lit stair well munching and chatting away about his favourite things. Toast...Cooper...cars...bikes...Dora...houses...Daddy... And I felt so lucky to have this little boy in my life.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading, I’m out!